By Mary "Wolf"
“What I love is near at hand, Always, in earth and sky.”
-- Theodore Roethke (1908-1963)
American Poet
Simple words these; calm, understated...evoking, however, much more than modest words on a page. They bring memory and emotion and remind me of a sense of belonging I have felt in very few places. A certain source that calls the magicks from my hands. There is an old saying among some of the tribes that "home" is where the earth knows your name. Spirit Haven knows my name - the one I do not speak.
I am a simple child of earth and sky, content in meadow and wood. Doing as I can to be a steward for the land that knows me. I am its servant not it’s master. I do not own it - it owns me. It holds my sweat and blood and tears; my laughter and my sorrow, my fear and my bravery, my pride and my shame, my accomplishment and my failure. It does not judge, nor does it complain, it is and in being becomes the guide to follow.
If you listen - when you listen, you will hear its voice in the sigh of the breeze that caresses your cheek, in the song of the birds calling fire into the dawn, in your own steps as you travel its shaded secret ways. What does it say? There is the question, for it may not say the same thing to each individual. And each can be valid.
But what does it mean to be a steward to land? The answer is a simple one, and yet, so complicated that no one may ever know its entirety. It is an enigma... This is how it is for me and, perhaps, for you as well.
First, whenever possible, do no harm. Go lightly, go gently. Remember that there are others who share with us. It is their home first. They have generations in their living and dying. Spirit Haven knows them and gives of itself to ensure their survival. It is, effectively, their mother and their protector. And, in many ways, because it knows us too, it does the same for us two-legs as well.
Second, respect what we have been gifted with. For, though we have gone through accepted mundane practice to become "landowners", Spirit Haven is still a gift. One we must honor, or through our own arrogance we will lose...not entirely because some bank takes it away but because the land itself refuses to recognize us anymore. Respect entails recognition and awareness of something/someone outside of our own beings; one with equal rights, equal position, equal voice. Respect means asking, not taking.
Third, tend. This has multiple levels, physically and spiritually. And, no, I am not merely speaking of picking up garbage, though, unfortunately, it does make up a large part. Remember though, much of our trash is poison to the land and those whom we share it with. Please, treat it as such and, whenever possible, keep it away from those it would harm. Tending also means being aware of your surroundings - not just in the "public" areas, but in the quiet, still places. If you find a creature that could be in harm’s way, then encourage it to move or assist it. If you cannot for whatever reason, find someone who can. If you find a tree or bush with a freshly broken live branch still hanging, tend it gently and remove it cleanly to avoid potential “infection”. Our awareness not withstanding it does feel pain - tend it as you would a small child who cannot tell you why or how, only that it hurts. Spiritually, be calm... be still save in your joy. Share and give freely of you jubilance and delight, but if you can, curb your anger. Anger and rage hurt. Not just those who you direct it towards, but also the ground on which you stand. Do not wound where no harm is meant.
Finally, give back...on all levels. Whenever I travel to Spirit Haven I give it water, not from its source, to acknowledge and give thanks for the water it has given me. I give tobacco to say my thanks and acknowledge that it is sacred space - all of it, not just those places where we do ceremonies and rituals. Finally, I give of my own energy to use at it sees fit so that, in a small way, I support and help sustain it, as it has done for me, just as I do for any person who asks for my aid.
All of these things I do to honor the land which gives me that feeling of "home". As I serve it, so, in part, it serves me and allows me a sense of place. I ask for you to remember that we hold the land in trust - not just for our generations, but for all our relations (plant, insect, bird and animal) as well.
BELUM,
Mary "Wolf"